March 18, 2008
Meeting Summary
Jessica Lindsay-Green and Chiara
Orsini, from the Office of Technology Management,
discussed recent and proposed changes to federal patent law. The plethora of changes in patent rules,
patent reform legislation and recent Supreme Court activity represent a shift
in the patent landscape that will make patents more difficult and more costly
to obtain, easier to invalidate, and less costly to infringe, thus challenging
the ability to procure and maintain patent protection to support the
development of life sciences innovations. This impact will be felt most
significantly where resources for intellectual property protection and
commercialization are limited, such as at universities. Universities will have
to reconsider their established processes for negotiating licenses and potentially
spend additional time and effort renegotiating existing licenses.
Central Research Development Fund
Thirty-nine faculty members submitted proposals to
the Central Research Development Fund. Ten proposals were from health science
disciplines, fifteen proposals were from engineering and science disciplines,
and fourteen proposals were from humanities and social science disciplines.
Federal Agencies Trip
This year’s federal agencies trip took place on
March 16 and 17. Faculty members from
engineering and the science departments traveled to
Miscellaneous
Council members also discussed: